Gulf of Mexico seafood shortage may hit Birmingham vendors

Matt Terry stocks shrimp at Sexton's Seafood in Cahaba Heights. Manager Jason Schroeder says the ongoing oil spill is curtailing Gulf supplies.
(The Birmingham News / Tamika Moore)
Some metro Birmingham seafood vendors are feeling the pain of the massive oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico, with one longtime family business facing the possibility of a temporary shutdown if the spreading slick strangles more fishing operations.

At Sexton's Seafood in Cahaba Heights, shipments from the Gulf already are dwindling, particularly for shellfish, said manager Jason Schroeder, whose family has operated the market for about 30 years.
Ninety percent of its seafood comes from the Gulf, where fishing has been restricted from Lousiana state waters at the mouth of the Mississippi River to waters off Florida's Pensacola Bay as crews struggle to contain the spill.

"Right now, it's just a case of panic at the beach between all the seafood vendors and the boats," Schroeder said. "We've got one more load of crabmeat coming early next week, and that's it."

As for shrimp and other seafood, the market's saving grace is that fishing is still happening off the vast majority of Florida's coast. But Schroeder worries that the oil could shift that way, prompting additional restrictions and shutting down the supply line altogether.
And if that happens, Sexton's will have to shut down until fishing resumes, a situation the business has never faced before.

"Nobody really knows when this oil is going to hit or if it's going to make it to the beach. We're just kind of waiting to see," he said.

Federal and state officials along the Gulf Coast have been furiously working to stave off the spill, which is growing rapidly as crude spews from the Deepwater Horizon drilling rig that exploded on April 20.

Despite the supply problem, business at Sexton's is booming. Schroeder said the market's doors barely stay closed with all the people stopping in to stock up on Gulf seafood.
"Everybody's in a panic to fill their freezer," he said. "They're worried it could be the last unspoiled seafood they get their hands on for a while."

But the oil spill also is prompting some misconceptions among customers about the cleanliness of the seafood that is available, said George Sarris, owner of The Fish Market Restaurant on Southside.
Sarris said he wants to reassure diners that the fish being served in restaurants is coming from approved sources, and it's not contaminated with oil

As for The Fish Market's supply of seafood, the situation is not dire at all, he said. The restaurant and its fresh market have turned to other suppliers beyond the Gulf, including those on the East Coast and in Texas and Alaska.

"Our prayers should be really with the guys that make their living fishing, picking crabmeat and opening oysters on the Gulf," Sarris said. "Those people are suffering."

So are smaller seafood markets that are heavily dependent on Gulf products and don't have a restaurant or related business to supplement their income.
However, Sarris said he has been affected with price increases, particularly for crabs and oysters, which are both heavily harvested in the Gulf. He said he eventually might have to pass the higher prices on to customers, but that hasn't happened yet.

Sarris praised the quality of Gulf seafood, saying substitutions from other areas don't quite match up. But he also questioned the panic among some people who fear they will have to do without seafood, citing all the other areas it can come from.
"We will have seafood," he said.

Other area seafood businesses say they haven't experienced supply problems related to the oil spill. Ocean restaurant, for instance, says it gets seafood from around the world.

At Crestline Seafood Company, which has a market and restaurant, there haven't been any supply problems, and most of its seafood comes from the Gulf, said manager Sandy Smeraglia.
But the oil spill is creating more customer traffic, and the business has been selling out of seafood nearly everyday.

"I think people are just concerned that they won't be getting it for awhile," she said.

Seafood vendors agree that there are a lot of unknowns when it comes to the future supply from the Gulf. It will depend on how quickly the spewing well is capped, where the slick ends up and the length of the cleanup.